This application discloses an invention that is related, generally and in various embodiments, to a method for optically detecting an electrical arc in a power supply. The method may be utilized with a power supply having a plurality of power cells. Various embodiments of a power supply having a plurality of power cells are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,545 to Hammond (“the '545 patent”).
Systems for optically detecting an electrical arc are known in the art. In general, when an electrical arc occurs, the light resulting from the arc is optically detected, and the detection may be utilized to interrupt the power that is supplying the electrical arc. However, known systems for optically detecting electrical arcs are not necessarily suitable for many applications.
Known systems for optically detecting electrical arcs are generally susceptible to a single point of failure, and thus are not particularly well-suited for applications which require a particular level of redundancy. Also, in various devices, electrical arcs can occur in a variety of locations. For such a device, electrical arcs can occur in locations which are not quickly detected by known optical arc detection systems. Consequently, the detection of such arcs is often delayed, thereby allowing the arcs to cause significant damage to the device prior to their detection. In many instances, the damage is significant enough to render the device inoperable.